


Winter Wooer

by fakesheep-luna (octavaluna)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alcohol, BUCKY'S PINK HAIR, Bucky Barnes-centric, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Fluff and Crack, Humor, Loki is scheming things, M/M, Polyamory Negotiations, Sexual Humor, Steve Rogers Is a Good Bro, Tattoos, Team as Family, Tony isn't as emotionally constipated as everybody thinks he is, Tony's perky bottom, Winter and Bucky are different people, but it's chill, kinda???, meddling Steve Rogers, now with art
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-14
Updated: 2016-01-18
Packaged: 2018-05-13 23:38:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5721355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/octavaluna/pseuds/fakesheep-luna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><br/>Winter may not be the most pleasant guy to live or share your body with, but he isn't nearly as destructive as everybody expected him to be either. He likes to brood in the corners, watch British TV, and freak people out. And Tony. He really, <i>really</i> likes Tony Stark.<br/>There's just one problem – Bucky's pretty sure he doesn't feel the same way about the guy. </p><p> </p><p>  <sub><i>The only thing you need to know about this story is that no matter how much you like winteriron, you'll never ship them as much as Steve ships them here.</i></sub></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SleepingWithTheSoldier (DirectorOfShield)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DirectorOfShield/gifts).



> For [Alex](http://www.sleepingwiththesoldier.tumblr.com/). I haven't used the Nipple-gloves designer turned supervillain at the end because I was not sleep-deprived when I continued to write this. But who knows, I just might one day :)

 

“He's a danger to wildlife” Bucky declares, showing up in the communal kitchen first thing in the morning, covered in blood and a dead pigeon clutched in his metal hand.

Steve shrugs and flips a pancake “Well, at least he's not a danger to human life anymore. It's progress.”

“Don't undermine wildlife, you insensitive fuel-burner.” Bucky says and, in a show of utter hypocrisy, throws the dead bird in the trash. “We have to give him something to do. I feel like he's about to get out of hand again out of sheer boredom.”

Steve frowns “You can feel it? Really? That's new”

Bucky hands him a piece of napkin, slightly spotted with blood and scribbled over with a blue pen, _“I'm bored. Give me a mission or next time it_ _'s_ _not going to be a pigeon.”_ Steve reads and scrunches up his nose. At least the note is in English. “Well, that's pretty straightforward, and you gotta give him credit, he wrote it in pen and not in pigeon blood.”

“Apparently it's not as easy as it sounds. There were at least dozen failed attempts scattered around my room. I think he got frustrated.”

Steve grins, obviously not taking the situation as seriously as he should, and motions for Bucky to get washed up for breakfast.

“What's up, buttercup?” Comes Tony's voice as he strides in, business suit on, the tie thrown over his shoulder and hair chaotically styled. He graciously waltzes around Bucky and steals a pancake from the plate Steve's been stacking them on.

“Well, aren't you unusually chirp for ass-crack in the morning?” Bucky asks, cleaning his hands. Damn blood, always so hard to wash off.

“Well, today's R&D meeting is with our green engine division. It's an experimental territory and I can't wait to see what my boys and girls came up with to show off to the boss.” He points at Bucky's hands “pigeon?”

“How did you know”

Tony snorts “Eeh… he dropped by last night. Gave me one too. Because you know, that's what any man needs to be charmed. – Fuck diamonds, dead birds are all the rage this year Valentine's. – Then proceeded to drag me over to a couch and sing to me until I pretended to fall asleep. Then stayed there staring until I fell asleep for real. See?” He leans into Bucky's space pointing under his eyes. “No bags.”

“He manhandled you?” Bucky dries his hands with a towel and then flops his palm over Tony's face to push him away. This is getting out of control. Winter's puppy-crush on Tony had been mostly innocent until now, just some longing staring from a distance and a number of inappropriate gifts left when Tony wasn't looking. But he never made contact so boldly before.

Well, it's not like it was the first time Winter refused to follow a pattern. Apparently he got some sort of twisted satisfaction from weirding people out with his behavior.

 

When Bucky first came to live in the tower there were quite a few precautions and a whole complicated alarm system in place for when Winter (as baptized by Clint) took over their body. They served their purpose well for the first couple of months, but Winter showed to be more than a mindless killer when he realized that:

1\. There were no more missions or handlers.  
2\. If he wasn't being forceful towards other humans nobody hurt him.  
3\. If he didn't try to sneak around nobody restrained him.  
4\. His other identity was among friends and felt safe, which meant Winter, as inhabiting the same body, was safe from them too.

And after he injured his metal arm by, basically, being a dick to the elevator, Tony didn't even think twice (or hadn't had enough self-preservation instincts left after a two-day engineering binge) before pushing him into the couch and fixing it without causing any pain at all. Except that when he was finishing up he dropped the screwdriver and had to climb under the shelves to fetch it. After at least two minutes of staring at his – conveniently presented – hindquarters Winter came to his final realization.

5\. Tony Stark; aka Iron Man, known enemy of his former handlers, was competent with technology, took into consideration Winter's comfort, and had a really cute butt that should be cherished and appreciated.

That was the first time he voluntarily made contact with Bucky. And it was a single paragraph in Russian entirely dedicated to the beauty of Tony's ass.

Bucky never replied.

In addition to his creepy stalking Winter would also watch a lot of British TV, glare and snarl at everybody, and sometimes harm gym equipment and furniture. He never spoke, but ate all the food in the fridge and then sat nearby, waiting for Clint to come in looking for the leftovers only to find them gone. He also sometimes wandered out of the tower and came back with food for himself or flowers/baked goods/lingerie that one time for Tony. The first time it happened everybody lost their shit, but they soon realized that the worst thing he did was leaving without paying. After a long scolding from Steve that accomplished absolutely nothing Tony gifted him with a credit card and made him promise to use it. Winter nodded and stuck by it.

So yeah, so far Winter hadn't been the most pleasant guy lo live with, but he wasn't near as destructive as everybody had expected him to be either.

Until, apparently, now.

 

“He needs a hobby or a job. Something to keep him entertained. The shrinks and doctors all say that I'm stuck with him for the rest of my life, and I can't keep worrying about waking up one day to find out he's done something horrible and assassin-like again.”

Tony rolls his eyes. “C'mon. He's actually quite sweet, I don't think you should be taking it so seriously. I can have a talk with him about the pigeons if you want, maybe get him into a sport to release all that murderous energy.”

Bucky huffs “You seem to be taking it quite well for someone whom he's been obsessively harassing. Also yeah, sorry for last night, and all that.”

Tony shrugs. “Why? You have a nice voice. I haven't slept that well in weeks. Besides” he adds with a leer “I don't mind the, how do you old people say it, wooing.”

“What if he goes too far?” Bucky protests “What if he gets too intrusive and tries to do something more?”

“Then I can stop him.” Tony turns to him with a frown. “I have plenty of means. Iron Man, remember? But he won't act on anything I'm not on board with anyway, so don't worry, I won't let him do something you're not comfortable with.”

“Me?!” Bucky raises his voice, incredulous “This is about you!”

“No” Tony rolls his eyes “I told you, I don't mind his interest. But it's your body too, so I'm not going to accept anything from him, since that would be a dick move, literally and figuratively, even if you are not conscious at the moment.”

“Sounds like you thought this over” Steve says, pushing a plate with pancakes and a fork into Tony's hands.

“I did. And consulted with the gal that gives the annual sexual harassment speech at SI. So don't worry, your virtue is safe with me.” He winks at Bucky and shoves a big piece of pancake into his mouth.

His phone beeps and he swears at it before gulping down the rest of his breakfast and, accepting a to-go coffee cup from Steve, running out the door.

Bucky's left staring at said door until Stevie brings him out of it by putting his own breakfast and coffee on the table in front of it.

“Did he just…?”

Steve shrugs. “Well, he never complained about Winter's affections, did he? And physically you're kinda his type.”

“What's his type?”

“Human, legal and breathing.”

“Very funny, Rogers.”

 

The little shit grins and suddenly Bucky has the dire feeling that he's not gonna like what's about to come out of that mouth.

“You should ask him out.”

“WHAT?”

“Oh c'mon, Buck.” Steve backs away a few inches as Bucky snarls at him. “He's not that bad, and what other options do you have?”

Bucky keeps glaring and Steve sighs, his whole demeanor shifting into something more serious.

“Look, you said it yourself. What the USSR and HYDRA did to you caused this disassociation inside your head. Winter's here to stay and, unless you want to spend the rest of your life picking up one-night stands and hoping for the best, whoever you date must not only be able to deal with Winter emotionally but also be safe from him physically. I'm not saying you won't be able to find someone who won't mind him and whom he'll learn to like in due time, but it won't be easy, and the chances are too slim for you to cling to that possibility when you've already got someone in your immediate circle that's just perfect. Plus, there's also a matter of trustworthiness. We live a life where any bystander or waiter could be a spy or a saboteur or a triple agent, never mind any potential significant other. At least with Tony you know he is exactly who he says he is and you can trust him to have your back, heck, you _do_ , every time we're in the field.”

Bucky rolls his eyes to hide how uncomfortably close to home Steve's words hit.

“Sorry to interrupt that Best Man speech you're already rehearsing in your head, pal, but you're aware that you're basically saying I should settle for convenience so I don't end up old, sad and alone, right?”

“I didn't say that. I said that if you're gonna fall for someone – Tony's your best option.”

“I don't want a best option, Steve. It doesn't work like that. You don't see a person and say “they are convenient for my future, I'm gonna love them now”, push a button in your brain and then boom! In love. Ready to have a life together, a middle sized dog and two-point-five kids. That shit ain't real.”

Steve throws his hands in the air in frustration. “I didn't say you should settle for him, or marry him or whatever you think I said. I just mean that you should consider him as an option instead of discarding him automatically just because Winter likes him. You two – well, three – could be really good together.”

“I'm not discarding him because Winter likes him, if anything that's the only thing he's got going in his favor. I'm discarding him because _I do not_ like him. And what's equally important – he doesn't like me either.”

“He just said he does like you!”

“No. He said he wouldn't mind having sex with Winter. Which, considering the extent of their interactions basically means that he's wrapped up in a decent-looking package and Stark would hump anything with a leg. Hardly boyfriend material if you ask me.”

Steve looks at him disapprovingly and Bucky just shrugs. It's not like he has anything against Stark. The guy opened his home for him, pays for his food and fixes his arm. He's grateful and a little bit baffled by his generosity. But Tony's also obnoxious, loud, always a blur of motion and practically vibrating with restless energy. On top of that he's got that weird balance-thing going on between narcissism and utter self-loathing. And okay, yeah, Bucky's got a garden full of issues, but Tony's issues have issues that in turn have secret warehouses full of gold-covered mini issues. And despite Tony's claims that everything's ran by mathematical laws, Bucky's not delusional enough to believe that their issues would automatically cancel each other.

 

No, there's no way they would ever be a good match, no matter how much Steve wants to believe otherwise.

“You're awfully invested in this.” He comments when Steve looks like he's about to start on a tirade about how Bucky's not giving Tony enough credit, probably. “I get that you're happy and newly in love and think everyone should always feel that way, but why Stark in particular? I'm sure you could recruit Natasha and between the two of you you'd be able to come up with a long list of potential candidates by the end of the week. So why him?”

Steve hides half his face behind his giant “momma duck” mug (Clint's gift).

“Because you may be his best option too. He's a good guy and he deserves someone able to appreciate good things, even if they are damaged.”

Bucky frowns. “I don't think so. What he needs is someone stable and competent to handle him, patient too.”

“He's got Pepper for that.” Steve shakes his head. “And there's a reason why they didn't work out. Tony Is a grown up man. He doesn't need a nanny or a shrink, he needs someone who'll understand. He isn't going to miraculously get better if his partner holds him through his bad days, on the contrary, he'll spend so much time worrying that he's burdening them too much and will eventually drive them away. No, what he needs is someone as burdened as he is. And so do you, don't make hat face I'm being frank here, you never give me enough credit but I never had any trouble seeing the truth and calculating the odds, I just choose to ignore them half the time and take the risk. But in this case I'm fairly sure, if you don't want to date him, I think that at least it would do you both some good to be closer as friends.”

Bucky swallows uncomfortably and fakes a leer. “Sure it all isn't because you want us to leave you alone so you can spend more time with Wilson?” Eyebrow waggle, eyebrow waggle.

“You got me, I'm trying to get rid of both of you to get laid. From now on you are only gonna see me on double dates.” Steve answers, dry as the Sahara desert. If only all those young SHIELD agents new about how sassy and bitchy their idolized Captain America could be…

He drops it quickly tho, sighing and standing up to collect the plates. He bends down to kiss Bucky's forehead on his way to the sink and smiles wobbly at him. “Just promise you'll consider it, okay?”

 

Bucky rolls his eyes but nods.

 

Whatever, it's not like he has anything better to do.

 

*******

 

“Steve is making me ask you out on a date.” What? He never promised he would put any effort into it!

Tony looks up from where he's hunched over a piece of circuitry, enormous goggles with three lens levels covering most of his face. He looks like one of these cartoon mole-men in kid's movies and Bucky has to suppress a laugh.

“I've gotta say Barnes, you are a true master of the act of seduction. This even tops the dead pigeon, don't tell your evil twin.” And then “Do you even want to go out with me?”

Bucky shrugs. “Not really. It's nothing personal, I just don't like you like that.”

Tony doesn't answer for a while, focused again on the piece of tech on his table. “Okay,” he says after a while “So tell Cap I said no and we're done with it. Your loss, tho.”

“My?… wait, do _you_ want to go out with me?”

Tony shoves his glasses off his face and onto his mussed hair, giving himself a sort of crazy-scientist air. “Want is a strong word, wouldn't mind is probably more accurate.”

Bucky stares at him. “This is not how these things worked in my day.”

“True” Tony cocks an eyebrow “Back in your day you could be arrested for even thinking about asking me out. I'd say change is not always bad.”

“It's not always good either.”

“It is, actually. Bad changes don't stick for long, they prove to be inconvenient and in need to be corrected. Therefore they are good for figuring out the wrong way and re-direct the course towards an improvement. Depends of the scale it may take two hours or ten generations, but at the end the only thing that's bad is getting stuck in one point, unchanging forever. Populations that don't change and don't adapt quickly become obsolete and die out. It's the first law of nature.”

“Adapt or die, huh?” Bucky mutters, crossing his arms over his chest. He can't say that he agrees but… he glances at his metal hand distractedly “Spoken like a true futurist.”

“That I am.” Tony smirks. And then “Hey, Barnes!”

“Yeah?”

“You want to go to dinner tonight?”

Bucky huffs and shakes his head “I told you, I don't see you that way.”

“Well,” Tony winks “Give it a try. Who knows, you may even _change_ your mind.”

And that's a challenge if Bucky's ever heard of one. He thinks about it for a moment, sweeps a quick glance over Tony's figure, from his shapely thighs to his mussed hair, and finally gives a shrug.

“Show me what you've got, Stark.”

 

Two hours later Bucky's regretting his decision.

“This is what you're gonna wear?!” Steve flails his arms around as he bulldozers into Bucky's room, a determined Sam at his tail.

“What's wrong with this?” Bucky looks down at himself and tugs at his black, nondescript shirt. “It's what I wear everyday”

“Exactly! You need to put a little effort into it!”

“But not too much” Sam cheeps in, “or you'll look desperate”

“I'm not desperate. He knows I'm not. The only reason he are going out is because he dared me to and he's taking me out for burgers.” Bucky explains, trying to pry Sam away from his closet. “Stop it.” He yanks his shirts out of Sam's hands.

“Dude, why do you only own black stuff? You're pastry white, start wearing some color or you'll end up looking like a chess board.”

“He never had any instinct for color combination. Please Buck, tell me you're at least gonna wear that leather jacket Tony gave you for your birthday. It'll make his possessive instincts flare up if he sees you in something he bought for you.”

“That's it!” Bucky snaps “Out of my room you two. Now!”

Sam looks at him with one sassy eyebrow cocked up and pity in his eyes. “Don't you even think about that, young man. We're investing a lot in you two. Steve, fetch him your medium blue button up, and my cologne. I'm gonna try to do something with that wet mop that he calls hair.”

“You barely have hair on your own!!”

 

***

 

“Why do you smell like Sam?” Is the first thing that Tony says to him as soon as he gets out of the elevator. Tony's wearing the same thing he was wearing earlier in his workshop, except that he changed his gray band t-shirt for a black band t-shirt. Meanwhile Bucky feels like he's been ran over by the fashion police arrest van.

“Can you do something about Steve and Sam's Project Runway addiction, please? It's starting to get out of hand.”

Tony shrugs. “Believe it or not this is better than the first two years, when Cap would only wear plaid shirts and grandpa khakis.” He walks them towards one of his most discreet cars. It looks like an average Audi, but somehow Bucky's willing to bet it cost more than his childhood apartment and all the food he ate in his life rolled into one. “That was a fashion crime on two legs.”

“Yeah, well. You didn't get anyone breaking into hysterics over your clothing choices an hour ago.”

“Natasha saw me and ordered me to take a shower. Does that count?” Now that he mentions it, Bucky notices he smells of shampoo, rather than a full day in the workshop. Still, no point of comparison.

He gets in the passenger seat and they spend the drive discussing their friends and how TV shows impact their lives. Apparently, Clint went through a Top Chef phase not long before Bucky moved in and almost burnt down the entire tower trying to make cheese on fire.

Natasha really likes Brooklyn Nine Nine, she feels a kinship with Rosa, and Bruce is a National Geographic kind of man.

“I tell you” Tony's saying as he pulls in front of the diner. “The History Channel did this thing where they advocated for the fifth of December to become the international alien day. So they put up a special programming; 24 hours of aliens. As opposed to the usual 14 hours of aliens. Which is only because the rest of the time it's Nazis. And sometimes they like to really pamper their audience and they give them aliens _and_ Nazis. At the same time. It's an absolute hit.”

“I know. I saw one of these. They were trying to prove that Steve and the Red Skull were both members of eternally battling alien races. Also that Cap had me and the Commandos mind-controlled to follow his orders and keep quiet about his alien powers.”

They keep talking through dinner, even as the waitress brings their burgers and wow, not a date meal for sure, but damn those babies look able to feed a whole village.

“Damn” Bucky whistles, lifting the top, which is so wide he can barely fit it in his hand. “Keep feeding me these and I may even change my mind, alright?”

Tony grins and the corners of his eyes crinkle. He looks relaxed, Bucky notices, but his body language is casual and a little sloppy. He ends up with ketchup on his fingers and licks it off, not seductively but like one does when they are alone at home, nose scrunching up and too much tongue, instantly looking around to make sure nobody saw it. He's not acting like he does when he brings women home, not playing up his charm and natural grace. And that, more then anything, puts Bucky at ease. Looks like Tony isn't very interested in making it a romantic date either, but he's having fun, and so does Bucky. Steve was right at least in one thing. Maybe they could be better friends.

“So, what now?” He asks when the last piece of his burger is well settled in his stomach.

Tony looks up from his own plate and grins. “And now – we have some real fun.”

 

*******

 

“So… this is awkward.”

Bucky wants to die. He genuinely wants to die. His head hurts like it's trying to jump off his neck and roll into the sunset, his throat's dry and sore and there's a weird, abrasive sensation over his tailbone.

Also, he's lying naked in bed. Tony Stark's bed. With the man in question equally naked and also staring at the ceiling of his bedroom, just besides Bucky.

“Yes it is. Also em… your hair is pink.”

Bucky grunts and pulls at a stand from his head, grunting again as his traitorous eyes confirm Tony's words.

“What the hell happened?!”

“Tequila. And then that weird Chinese concoction with a white snake. How much do you remember?”

“Too much.” His fuzzy memories are starting to sort themselves, making it clear that it was him who lived one of the craziest nights of his life. “How much will it cost me if you tell everyone it was Winter?”

“I don't think he'll be thrilled if I do. Specially once he looks in the mirror.”

“He won't do anything to you. Well, unless he takes this” he waves a hand around, indicating their position. “as blanket permission.”

“Don't worry.”

“You said the same when you asked me out.”

“I didn't”

“You implied!”

Tony looks like he's about to protest further but as he tries to shift upwards his face contorts in a grimace. He blinks, surprised and then his face goes pale.

“No, no no no, no no, no... I'm way too old for pulling this shit while drunk.” He trows the covers out of the way and turns his back to Bucky, jumping on his toes. “Please tell me I've got a rush or something.”

“Get your ass off my… oh, this is bad.”

Because right on the small of his back, over an – admittedly cute – rack, he's got a red star with Bucky's initials in it. Under the J.B.B is a W between parenthesis. Bucky doesn't know if he should laugh or cry, except that his own lower back itches more now and he has the vague recall of laying on a table and holding Tony's hands and telling someone that he's sure… Fuck.

He sits up too and turns around. Tony picks up the clue and looks down, giggling almost maniacally. “Oh my god it's the Iron Man helmet. You've got a tramp stamp of my helmet.”

“Shut up! You aren't any better.”

“Don't yell, my head is killing me. And at least my hair is the same color it was yesterday.”

“Point taken.”

They sit on the bed looking at each other. It hurts to use his brain mass but Bucky still wonders how they fuck did he think yesterday that any of that madness was a good idea. He remembers the first few drinks, and then going to another bar, laughing, they were having fun, and then… oh, and this he remembers well, him thinking that he feels more at ease with Tony than with anyone else these days, and how Tony doesn't care about his identity problems, and how Tony's eyes sparkle when he laughs, his pretty mouth so inviting... Bucky had taken the lichee cut from the plate that came with their snake liquor shots and offered it to Tony, holding it between his own teeth. Tony giggled and took it from him, spitting it out and kissing him. They spent the rest of the night making out like teenagers, constantly touching and groping each other as they sauntered from bar to bar. Until Tony pulled him out into an alley and sucked him against a wall. After that Bucky only remembers the highly questionable tattoo parlor, more making out in the taxi, and finally coming back and humping Tony until they both came, between sweet promises and more kisses.

Bucky's pretty sure he still doesn't like Tony that way, but his traitorous dick twitches at the memory. Except that then he opens his eyes and okay, yeah, naked Tony is not a bad sight _at all._ He m _aaaaay_ be can get why drunken him might have thought sex with the guy might not be that bad of an idea.

Still, that doesn't explain the pink hair.

“I need to fix this before anyone sees it.” He tugs at it again. “Or Steve's never letting me live it down.”

Tony nods “Jarvis, take pictures-”

“Wait NO YOU ASSHOLE!-”

“- and order Buckster a couple of bottles of hair-dye that looks most similar to his natural color.”

Bucky glares mistrustfully and crosses his arms over his chest. Which, considering he's still buck naked, must present quite a picture, because Tony' eyebrows shot up and the tips of his ears go darker.

“Well, as sexy as this is, you won't dissuade me. Now I'm the only one who knows your secret, so I, James Barnes, owe your ass. I have these pictures and the surveillance videos. I don't know when or why, but I'll use them if I need to.”

“Are you blackmailing me?”

“I prefer 'exchange of future favors for the gift of discretion'. Blackmail is too ugly of a word.”

“Your face is ugly” Bucky, very maturely, snarls back.

Tony looks way too gleeful for somebody with a killer hungover. “You seemed quite fond of my _gorgeous_ face last night.”

“I'll let you know the only reason I'm putting up with you right now is 'coz I need your help to dye my hair back.”

Tony shrugs. “Well, it could be worse.”

“How exactly?”

Tony lifts the corner of a bed sheet, twisted over Bucky's lap, and tugs at one of the curly hairs over Bucky's pubic region. “You could have gotten a dye-job here too.”

Bucky swats his hand away and covers himself up again. “Or we could have gotten tattoos of each other's superhero signs- Oh! Wait!”

“Fair point” Tony grins. “I'll make an appointment somewhere discreet to have them removed.”

“At least they're in intimate places, so nobody's gotta know 'bout them. Now, as long as nobody sees me before my hair is fixed we can put this whole mess behind us and pretend like nothing happened.”

 

And of course, _of course_ , that's when the Avenger's alarm goes off.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beware of butts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> [](http://es.tinypic.com?ref=1zzj714)  
>    
>   
> 
> 
> ([tumblt post for art](http://fakesheep-luna.tumblr.com/post/137563227781))

 

“Wait no!” Bucky grabs Tony's wrist as he practically catapults himself from the bed. “I can't go out like this! I sure as hell can't get into the field like this. I don't even wear a helmet!”

“Jarvis?” Tony shouts out, disentangling himself from Bucky's grip.

“I'm afraid Captain Rogers has commanded everyone's presence in the launching pad as soon as possible.”

“Fuck!”

“Look at the bright side,” Tony smiles apologetically, jumping up and down while tugging his undersuit past his thighs. (and where did it even come from?) “Weren't you complaining yesterday about Wilson and Steve-wonder accusing you of being too mild and monochrome?” He hisses in pain as the tight material rubs against his tattoo, but slips the rest of his body in it and tugs the front zipper up. “Now they sure as hell won't be able to say that anymore.”

“My spare uniform is in the quinjet… where're my clothes?” 

“Dunno, take mine.” Tony throws a pair of sweatpants and a shirt at Bucky's face. “Jarvis! Deploy the suit to the landing pad!” 

Bucky puts the clothes on in the elevator, glad that he had time to grab a pair of boxer shorts from an open drawer. He's gonna have to change into his battle gear as soon as they are in the quinjet, but at least this way he won't have to grace the rest of his teammates with the beauty of his dangling junk. 

The elevator doors open to Clint complaining out loud about how their lifes couldn't be more ridiculous at this point. He looks up when Tony and Bucky come in and promptly shuts up. 

“I lied” He declares. 

Everyone turns around and Bucky suddenly feels like a circus animal. Yeah, of course, stare at the guy with the pink hair, why don't you? 

“Are those Tony's clothes?” Steve exclaims, oddly gleeful. “Oh they are!” Damn punk has _stars_ in his eyes.

“ _This_ is the first thing you notice?”

“Guys, chatter on board, c'mon.” Natasha says, and bless her terrifying soul, Steve drops it and follows as Tony jumps off the edge of the landing pad and appears a second later fully suited up. Bucky changes into his own tactical gear while they're being debriefed on the quinjet, even through his reflection on the chromed surface of the control penel he can see the horrible contrast of his neon pink hair with the black leather. 

You've gotta give credit to Johnson though, she tries real hard not to lose it at the sight of Bucky. 

“Avengers, we have reason to believe that the disturbances in Buffalo are caused by Loki. It's his latest MO.”

“What is exactly his latest MO?” Barton asks. 

“Annoying and causing a ton of property damage but not really lethal unless he's not being acknowledged or paid attention to. You know, like a bratty kid. The situation is not Avengers-worthy for now, an I'd send my secret warriors and be done with it, but he's an Asgardian witch after all, so there's no telling what he'll do if he feels underestimated. Also we're, you know, secret.” 

Steve sighs “We have to do something with that guy. At this point he's just throwing tantrums. What is the situation exactly, Director?”

She nods “He's opening little portals that vomit vermin and other small animals in industrial quantities. I'm not sure what he wants to accomplish and it's possible that he's using it as a distraction for a larger scheme. Figuring out what that might be is part of your job. So there, permission to engage in chatter granted. See if you can make him monologue.”

Steve nods. “Thank you, Director. We'll be on coms.” 

“By the way, loving the new look, Barnes. Very chick' of you!” 

Her face flicks off the screen and Bucky groans as all attention falls on him again. 

“She's right. You look very modern Barnes, not what I'd expect from a grandpa like as you.” Clint sing-songs and Bucky throws a knife at him. 

Clint ducks, laughing, as everyone complains loudly about dangerous behavior. Whatever. If they wanted to be out of danger they should have pursued accounting in Denmark instead of a superhero career.

Loki is his usual megalomaniac self. He laughs like a cheesy Hollywood supervillain, attacks them with his glowing stick of death rays, and almost gets Natasha, although ends up punched in the face by her. He then changes tacticks and strats sending rats at them. Big, ugly and dirty rats. 

It's almost for the best that when the fight's just getting to the most heated (and disgusting) part the world goes dark and Winter takes over. 

  


***

  


When Bucky wakes up it's, once again, in Tony's bed. But this time they are both clothed, thanks God. 

“What happened?” He grunts and shakes Stark's shoulder, who moans in protest but still unfurls from his fetal position, where Bucky was spooning him, and turns to face him, apparently annoyed at the interruption. 

“I like the other broody guy better. He's quiet and likes to cuddle.”

“And he's a spineless ass-kisser for you, nothing new there. Now, what happened? The fight?”

“We're not at that stage yet.” Tony yawns, but then sobers up “And Daisy was right, by the way, Loki's definitively up to something. SHIELD's at it, but for now all we've gotten from Loki while fighting the mutated squirrels he's gotten from up his sleeve halfway through the fight is that we're all shortsighted fools. He then disappeared and tried to sneak into the Tower.”

“Shit! What did he want?” 

“Probably something we have. We don't know because he couldn't get in. I've had the building magic-proofed ten ways from Sunday since the last time. I've had the Sorcerer Supreme, Thor, and that inhuman magic expert that Daisy recommended put protection spells, blocks and everything they could to prevent magic from breaking the tower defenses.”

“I thought you hated magic. You actually said that. Like a hundred times. Only this week.”

“I do.” Tony smiles “But I also happen to know that fighting fire with fire is a valid firefighting strategy that actually works.”

“So what now?” 

“Well, if Loki needs something from here, he'll try to get in. And there's two ways to do that; either he finds a way to break the magic defenses or he disables the technological ones. For that last one he needs either to find very, very good allies able to hack Jarvis, and believe me – even if I'm not stupid enough to believe they don't exist -- they don't grow on trees either, or. 

“Or?”

“The other way is to get me.” Which he actually tried to do when we came back to the Tower and found him trying his hardest to break in. Obviously – I kicked his pale godly ass.”

“Obviously.”

“Yeah” Tony waggles his eyebrows. “The downside is that he'll probably try to do it again, which means we're on permanent orange alert now. Pepper's gonna have to put up with inhuman bodyguards, courtesy of SHIELD, until this is over too.” 

“And you?”

“What?”

“You should have a bodyguard too, just in case.” 

Tony blinks and then his face splits up in a wicked grin. “Oh, but I do have one. A certain ex-assassin with flawless fashion sense volunteered, rather enthusiastically if I recall. Nobody was stupid or brave enough to try to dissuade him.”

“Oh God no.” Well, at least that explains why he woke up in Tony's bed this time. Winter's now 100% committed to his new mission and won't let Tony out of his sight even during sleep. 

Bucky lets himself fall back on the bed and pushes a loose strand of hair out of his eyes. “When was that?”

“Uh, Jarvis?”

“The battle ended thirty-eight hours ago, Sargent Barnes.” 

Bucky eyes Tony sideways “Then why's my hair still pink.”

“Oh, that.” Tony snorts “Surprisingly, Winter doesn't mind it but apparently our teenage fans went nuts when they saw the footage on the news. Something about challenging gender roles. The PR department was very adamant you keep it for awhile.”

“Okay, so to recap.” Bucky says as he stares up to the ceiling. He isn't sure if he likes the fact that that particular lamp is starting to become disturbingly familiar. “Loki's planning something. I'm stuck as your bodyguard and my hair's still pink because the revolutionary youth of America likes it. Anything else you might want to drop on my head now while we're at it?”

“Well...” His vision of the ceiling is obscured by Tony's face, leaning over him, and oh this is not good, he actually looks apologetic. “Once winter found out about the tattoo he was so proud he made sure everyone knew about it. Mostly by pulling his pants down and the shirt up in the middle of the conference room.” 

Bucky honest to god whines, rolling around and burying his face in the pillow. Maybe if he's lucky he'll suffocate to death with it. “Why??? Why does he have to make my life so goddamn difficult?” 

“To be fair” Tony leans his weight on Bucky's back, half sprawled over him “you're making his life pretty difficult too.” 

“What's that supposed to mean?” 

He only feels Tony shrug enigmatically. “You hungry?” 

“I'm always hungry.” Bucky concedes. But it gets muffed by the pillow, which makes him sound too much like a petulant child. Tony laughs and digs his elbow into his side, pushing off him. Bucky hisses and turns around to watch Tony change out of his pajamas. What? It's been one hell of a morning and say what you want about Winter but he's gotten one thing right – Tony has a beautiful, perky bubble butt that looks even better clad in tight briefs. His tattoo is actually carefully covered in plastic film, held by medical tape, and it should ruin the picture, but some well-buried part of him preens in satisfied possessiveness at the thought that it's his name there, and his insignia. He shakes it off as soon as he notices the idea making a space for itself in his logical brain. 

He must have made some sound as soon as the Tattoo disappeared from view, hidden by Tony's shirt, because Tony turns around and winks at him. “Enjoying the view, sweetie?”

“We've got to get rid of them” Bucky says, absolutely refusing to fall for it and blush. 

Tony sighs and walks over him, still just in his underwear and a tank top, hair mussed from sleep. He swings his leg over Bucky's hips and sits down, a contemplative look on his face. “You know he's not gonna like it.”

“Is there any reason why we're having this conversation with you sitting on me?” 

“I'm trying to make sure you won't run away.” 

“Why?” 

“Because I know you don't like to be told that you're not the only one making decisions about your body anymore. You two have to learn to share and work out a communication system.” 

Bucky squirms but Tony digs his knees more insistently into the mattress. “He's just learning now that he has agency too, you can't go take it completely away from him.” 

“So what? I give into his every whim? What happens to _my_ agency then?” Bucky snarls, raising himself up on his elbows. Tony leans forward, thighs digging into Bucky's sides, and grabs the headboard on both sides of Bucky's head. Bucky could probably shake him off with his super-strength, but Tony's using one of Natasha's tactics so it wouldn't be easy and he really doesn't want to start a fight. 

“I'm not telling you to give up your part of control to him. I'm telling you to figure out a way to balance it. You're both stuck in this body, find a way to compromise.” 

“All I want is to have this damn stupid tattoo gone! That's it.” Damn it. Why must this be so difficult? “It's not a joyride, to have this condition. Do you have any idea how terrifying it is when everything goes dark and I feel… I feel control slipping away from my fingers, my body stops responding, I hear echos, I feel myself dissolving. And then I open my eyes and I have to wonder how many days have passed or if anybody has been hurt or killed by my hands-”

“Actually, this is not the first time I hear those same words in an almost identical combination. You really should talk more to Bruce when he comes back from India – you two have a lot in common. But as I never believed the Hulk to be a mindless monster I'm sure as hell not gonna let you think the same about Winter. You'd be way less scared of him and of what happens with the time you lose if you knew him a little better.” 

“I watched the footage-” 

“When was the last time?” Tony pulls back a little, not as much in his space now, and arches a challenging eyebrow. “I know for a fact you stopped watching them when all he did was train in the gym or marathon-watch Doctor Who. When was that, a couple of months ago?”

“Well, excuse me I prefer to hear from Steve or someone on the team that nothing seruous happened rather than sit for hours in front of a screen and watching in surrealistic boredom as he stares at another screen and demolishes the fridge.”

“Maybe. But you also missed the moment he started to think about himself as a person. You didn't bother to look deeper into what it meant for him to start wanting things, to start liking or disliking foods or forms of entertainment. Or people. Your brain created him to cope with Soviet and HYDRA experimentation, you've been dormant for seventy years while he never knew anything else but missions and orders. However, that doesn't mean he isn't capable of more, given an opportunity. His moral compass is a little screwed, but he's adapting. He's evolving rapidly, on our eyes, from a machine into a free man. You have to stop seeing him as a thorn in your side and start seeing him as a person with his own sense of self, feelings and preferences. The whole package deal, Bucky. And you have to be the first to reach out.”

“How?” Bucky wants to make him shut up, wants to throw him off and run away. But the most fucked up part is that – for better or worse – Tony's right. He knew that for a while. Tired not to think about it, walked out on Steve when his childhood friend wanted to bring out the topic. But it's true. _Winter's here to stay_. He's been told it, he repeated it, but he never stopped to think what it would entail. “How?” He repeats, and this time he sounds less hostile and more lost. 

Tony shrugs “Keep a joined diary, leave messages for each other through Jarvis, I'm even willing to play referee for the first few times. You'll find a way. But stop pretending he's not a part of your life or that you have to take him into account when making your decisions. Go to remove that tattoo without consulting him – and he'll just get another one. And with your luck it'll be on the forehead instead of your ass. If you talk to him though, maybe you'll find a way to compromise.”

“Since when are you the sensible one?” Bucky flops down on the pillows, looking up at Tony. This is a whole new side of the man he never though even existed. Incredible. The day barely began and it's been one bombshell after another, non-stop. Bucky's already emotionally drained, so for now just laying down and letting himself enjoy the warm, firm weight on top of him sounds incredibly tempting. 

“If I'm being sensible, just imagine how stupid you're being.” Tony leans down, smirking. His face is half is barely thirty centimeters away, their chests are almost touching now, and Bucky suddenly remembers that Tony's only wearing tiny briefs and nothing else, apart from the well-worn band T-shirt. 

“Nah, I'm fine. I think you just like to play emotionally constipated most of the time so nobody ever expects actual maturity from you.” He trails his fingers over Tony's thighs, from his knees all the way down to his hips, hands setting there firmly. 

Tony's looking at Bucky like he's trying to figure him out, eyes at half mast and head slightly cocked. But there's a glint in his iris-

And suddenly everything slides into place.

“Agency's not the only thing I've been keeping him from.” 

Tony's smile doesn't reach his eyes. “I said it before, didn't I? I'm not gonna do anything, or let him do anything, that you'd be uncomfortable with.”

“I thought- Jesus, I thought you were joking or being nice. I- you actually want to be with each other!”

Fuck. Steve was right. 

“He doesn't understand, not really. But he won't do anything that I don't agree on, he would never hurt me, or even displease me. So if I don't have your consent, I'll stop him every time.”

Bucky swallows, suddenly nervous “What's the most you've ever done?”

“Kissing. And some heavy necking yesterday. I actually went way further with you while drunk than ever with him.” He chuckles but it's humorless, a little wishful maybe. 

Bucky aches to pull him down and wipe that look off his face. “Holy shit. Stark, you've got issues.”

“Takes one to know one, Barnes.” 

Bucky chews on his lower lip, recalling his conversation with Steve a couple of days ago. 

“But you don't like me, do you? It's just him.” 

Tony tilts his head and shifts his hips, just a little bit but it's enough to remind Bucky of how close they are, how intimately in contact. If Tony slid just a few centimeters lower he'd be able to feel how much the charged situation is beginning to affect Bucky. 

“I like you just fine. You're smart and witty, and have a potty mouth that could put a porn star to shame. You fell off a mountain and the next thing you know you're waiking up in seventy years in the future and have a split personality disorder. Anybody else would go nuts but you're holding up like a champ, way better than Steve did, actually. So yes, I like you and I admire you.”

“Wow.”

“Hm. But I also happen to know him better. So I like him better too. For now.”

“Why?” He doesn't understand it. Winter's just… and that's what Tony's been talking about earlier, isn't it. Bucky doesn't even know what Winter is, how to define him. He's got this clear picture of his alter ego in his head but everyone around him seems adamant to confront it. 

“Because I'm a futurist and I hate to be stuck in the past. I told you before, I like change. People that constantly evolve fascinate me, and nobody is more fascinating than Winter. He isn't aware of a lot of social stigmas and conveniences, his mind and his logic don't work like that of the rest of us. He brings me flowers and cookies and dead pigeons, for no apparent reason. He has a quiet demeanor but is probably the wildest person I ever met. There's a turmoil inside of him but he doesn't speak unless he has something to say. He's constantly learning new stuff, trying it on, and what's most important – he's unpredictable. There's no telling what he'll keep and what he'll decide to ditch and when.” 

“Doesn't hurt that he imprinted on you like a baby duckling either.”

Tony chuckles. “I'm not gonna lie – I enjoy the all-encompassing devotion. But that's not the reason I want to be with him. For someone who's never had any life before – and who's taken so many – he's buzzing with it. When I kiss him I can taste it on my tongue – that potential, the limitless possibilities of the future – and I want to be there to see it unfulr. 

Bucky doesn't even think before whispering “and what do you taste when you kiss me?” because Tony's mouth is already so close, breath tickling, humid and hot against his lips, so when Tony closes the last few inches and kisses him it's not unexpected, and Bucky opens up to it immediately. He tilts his head and slides his fingers under Tony's shirt, circling his waist with is metal arm to bring him closer and continuing his exploratory caresses with the other one. Tony sighs into the kiss and cradles Bucky's face in his palms, his tongue becoming more insistent as it slides wetly against Bucky's, curling around and lighting up every nerve ending on it's path. 

Finally, Tony breaks the kiss and Bucky' chases after him, capturing his lover lip between his teeth, reluctant to let it go. 

“Tell me” Bucky's surprised at how low and rough his own voice sounds. The previously unmovable lock of Tony's thighs around his waist has gone soft and pliant and Bucky has a clear idea of how easy it would be to roll them around now, to pin Tony to the mattress and bury himself in his body. Instead he grips tighter where he's got his flesh hand groping Tony's backside. Hard enough to leave bruises probably, and Tony arches, grinding them together and exposing his throat. It's an irresistible temptation and Bucky takes it as an open invitation, sucking on the tender skin under Tony's jaw. 

“You make me want to stop time.” Tony whispers. Soft and so feeble Bucky wouldn't have probably picked it up if not for his enhanced hearing. 

“Is that a good thing?” He asks between kisses on Tony's neck. 

“I don't know yet. I don't feel like that often but-”

“Hm?”

“You and Winter are perfect opposites. He's the calm storm, you're the effervescent stability. I think I like that. When I'm with you I want to slow down and enjoy the present, your company and your laugh. It's not a common feeling in me and the pleasure it brings almost scares me. When I'm with him, I can't wait for the future to come.” 

“Which one do you like better?” 

“I don't know. I can't choose right now.”

Bucky finally gives into his instincts and rolls them around. Tony is beautiful like that, sweet and laid there for the taking like a feast, and Bucky feels ravenous for the first time in a very long time. 

“Then don't. Ever. Keep us both. You won't get bored and he won't let you get stuck in one place. I promise to be your anchor, to keep you where you need to be.”

Tony smiles, wicked and shy at the same time, like only he could pull off. 

“Two days ago you didn't even like me.” 

Bucky thinks back. It doesn't feel like two days to him. It feels like half a day and two eternities ago. He thinks about how much effort he put into ridiculing Steve's date idea, how easily he gave into Tony's barb, the way he couldn't keeps his hands off Tony as alcohol brought his inhibitions down. He thinks about waking up with Tony's warm body pressed to his chest and dicovering a side of him that barely anyone else knows. 

“Well” Bucky grins “I guess I changed my mind.”

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it ^^
> 
> I hope yo enjoyed the story and the art. Comments would be greatly appreciated, since I'm studying for my exams this week and the next and desperately need some good in my gray days :'D
> 
> Butts ♥

**Author's Note:**

> [Come and say Hi on tumblr?](http://www.fakesheep-luna.tumblr.com)


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